The invention is an improved and environmentally-friendly animal bedding material, particularly useful as horse bedding. The bedding of the invention is generally non-irritating, substantially dust free flax shives which have an inner core and outer surface with sufficient inner core being exposed to make the bedding absorbent.
A number of different materials have been used as animal bedding, and in particular, horse bedding. Traditionally, horses and other animals have been bedded on straw. Despite its good availability, handling characteristics and disposability, straw has significant disadvantages, including low moisture absorbency, limited comfort for the animals, and high palatability that provokes herbivores to eat contaminated bedding. The low moisture absorption rate of straw bedding necessitates more frequent stall cleaning.
It has long been known that the bast fibers of various plant materials, e.g. flax, jute, hemp, ramie, kenaf, have particular utility in a wide variety of textile and, industrial uses. Accordingly, many different types of machines have been used to process the material for separating the bast fibers of the plant material from the woody portions thereof. For example, machines that utilize a scutching or beating or flailing action as the primary mechanism to break-up the woody material for dislodging it from associated fibers are well-known in the art.
The stalk of the flax plant has about 30-40% long outer bast fibers and 60-70% short woody inner core fibers or shives. The shives are left as a by-product when the flax material is processed to separate the fibers therefrom. Accordingly, the majority of the flax plant is left as a low-cost reject that is disposed of without any appreciable commercial gain such as by supplying it to farmers for livestock as an inefficient bedding, or for piling it along treelines as biomass to mix with soil and for stopping weed growth. In this regard, sale of shive material only takes in around $9 per ton or in otherwise burned as waste.
This invention relates to animal bedding material made from agri-by-products, such as flax shives, which are non-palatable for herbivores, including livestock and have a low composting rate. It is most particularly suited for use with horses and farm animals (livestock). The agri-by-products used in the invention are difficult to compost. Indeed, if these agri-by-products were not used in some fashion, they would be burned on the field contributing to Greenhouse gas emissions.
The flax shives which are included in the animal bedding composition of the invention have a specific particle size; are substantially without a residual seed content, which seed content (or lack thereof) will reduce the palatability of the shives to animals, e.g., herbivores and carnivores; and are substantially free of toxins, such as herbicides and pesticides; are substantially free of preservatives; and are substantially dust free. In general, the flax shives should have less than about 1 weight percent seeds, and in another aspect, less than 0.5 weight percent seeds.
Flax shives have a hydrophobic outer layer and porous inner core. The proportion of exposed inner core and outer surface of the shives used in the invention is carefully controlled to provide superior uniform water absorbency for the bedding composition. The absorbency is such that the bedding can absorb more than about 400 percent of its dry weight in water. The inner core of the shive is absorbent, hence, the amount of core that should be exposed to be effective for making the bedding absorbent, but sufficient skin or outer shive surface should remain to make the shives more durable to decomposition in the stall than cereal straw. In general the flax shives should have a length in the range of from about 0.2 to about 0.9 inches. Generally, the ratio of exposed inner shive core to outer surface of the shive particles ranges from about 4:1 to about 1:3. In another aspect this ratio is about 1:1.
The size and shape of each particle including length, width, and thickness is controlled to 0.2xe2x80x3-0.9xe2x80x3, 0.01xe2x80x3-0.03xe2x80x3, 0.01xe2x80x3-0.03xe2x80x3, respectively.
In another aspect, the shives of the invention are mixed and compressed with non-palatable materials such as flax, hemp, kenaf, ramie, sisal straw, and mixtures thereof to make a combination bedding. In this aspect the shives constitute at least 50 weight percent of the bedding, but may form 100% of the bedding.
In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method of providing bedding for an animal comprising spreading the bedding composition on a substrate surface, such as a barn floor or the ground.
The value of the invention is evidenced by the fact that the bedding product converts an agricultural waste product into a useful animal bedding composition and thereby also reduces Greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere by preventing burning of the agricultural waste material.